What to Expect at your Child’s 1st Dental Visit by Age One

By: Amy Requa, MSN, CRNP

There is a new push for preventive dental care for very young children to achieve the “1st dental visit by the 1st Birthday”! The current recommendation, supported by the American Dental Association (ADA), the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), is for parents to take their child to see a dentist by their first birthday or with the eruption of their first tooth, whichever comes first. Why would parents want to do this and what happens during the first dental visit?

Good oral health is essential to overall good health, that’s why! Oral health is more than a beautiful smile. Children’s physical and emotional well-being is linked to their oral health; their growth and development, ability to socialize, enjoy life, chew, speak, and success in school is directly affected by their oral health. Prevention is the most sensible approach to oral health because the consequences of untreated dental disease in young children are pain and suffering, costly dental treatments, emergency room visits, general anesthesia, hospitalizations, and serious health complications.

Baby teeth are important! Most babies get their first teeth between 5-12 months of age, so it’s important to understand how to keep their teeth healthy from the start. The health of baby teeth can affect the health of adult teeth because cavities are infectious and can spread from tooth to tooth. The good news is that dental disease is almost 100% preventable in young children when they see the dentist and dental hygienist by age one.

During the Age One dental visit, children should receive a brief examination to check the mouth, usually lasting less than 5 minutes. A helpful position for examining a young child is called the “knee-to-knee” position, allowing the dentist to see inside the child’s mouth while the parent calms the child (see photo above). During the “knee-to-knee” examination, a tooth cleaning (usually done with a child-sized toothbrush and toothpaste), a quick fluoride varnish application, and discussion about how to contact the office if parents have questions or needs.  Also, parents should receive thorough education about creating good life-long oral health habits, such as techniques for brushing their child’s teeth (supervised until the child is 7-8 years old), encouraging the use of fluoridated toothpaste and drinking water, and flossing. There should be discussion with the parents about daily habits and nutrition, such as prevention of early childhood cavities by avoiding certain feeding patterns (e.g. avoid “grazing” on sippy-cups with juice), and a review of pacifier use and thumb sucking.  Information about trauma/injury prevention, appropriate ways of dealing with “teething”, and tooth eruption information should be provided to parents.

Parents should be knowledgeable and empowered to give the gift of life-long preventive dental care for their children by making the “1st Visit by 1st Birthday”!

Resources for parents:
American Dental Association
American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
American Academy of Pediatrics

About the Author: Amy Requa, MSN, CRNP, CPNP-PC, is a board certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She has 20 years of experience in public health nursing, maternal and child health, family and community health promotion and has extensive health expertise in oral health, childhood obesity prevention and child nutrition. Click here to learn more about Amy.

2 Year Old Checkup

By: Christine Cox (aka Choosy Mom)

If you ask a parent what place their children are most likely to remember they probably wouldn’t say the doctor’s office. My daughter knew where she was and what was coming as soon as we got into the waiting room for her 2 year wellness visit and checkup. I never remember the shot schedule or what to expect at each checkup so I hope that by me telling you about each of my daughter’s checkup visits (from this point on) you will know at least what is coming for your children who are the same age and you can help calm them before the storm. Remember that each physician is different so what we experienced may not be the same for you. I would love to hear what was different so be sure to leave me a note in the comment section below.

The first things the nurse wanted to check was my daughter’s height and weight. Well, go figure since she knew where she was, she didn’t want to stand on the scale alone so I had to stand on it with her and then just weigh myself (horrifying for any mom to see what number is on the scale but remember, it is your child’s checkup, not yours!) And then the tears began to stream when she was laid on the table for her height check. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the worst part of the visit…

The doctor then came in and my daughter, who is not normally shy, hid her face and wouldn’t say a word to her. The doctor asked her where her nose, eyes and ears were and she just ignored her! After a few minutes of questioning, my daughter finally showed the doctor where her Mickey figurine’s eyes, ears and nose were so the doctor was satisfied that she knew body parts (and she does!) Next, the doctor asked her what a dog says. We have two dogs and they bark ALL of the time - she knows what a dog says but wouldn’t tell the doctor. Again, after asking her about several animals she said, “Cow goes moo,” all on her own without the cow ever being one of the animals asked. I had to laugh because it was a little sassy but she was tired of being in that room. Side note: wouldn’t you know that when we were pulling in our driveway after the visit she said to me, “Mommy, dog goes ruff ruff.” Yup, she knows her animals.

The doctor then wanted to check my daughter’s eyes, ears, nose and mouth but she closed her eyes, covered her nose and wouldn’t open her mouth. After that struggle, I was relieved to hear she wasn’t getting any shots at the 2 year appointment. (Know that if they would’ve had the flu shot available, she would’ve received it at this visit so be aware of that). However, the nurse did do a lead test which meant they had to prick my daughter’s finger to get a blood sample. I think her world was going to end, and mine too from the tears, screaming and squirming. But after the blood, sweat and tears, we were all done!

The doctors and nurses try to make appointments fast and easy for both the children and parents. And as expected, each visit will get easier as the child gets older and is able to understand the visit better. I wish for your children have an easy time at their next wellness visit and I hope if it is a 2 year old this helped you to know what to expect (and to quiz them on their body parts and animals on the drive there!)

About the Author: Christine Cox is the blog master for Choosy Kids. She has always had a passion for writing and is honored to contribute her work to this blog. Most of her writing inspiration comes from her daughter, Capri, who is fun-loving and full of energy. Click here to learn more about Christine.

I Can’t Get That Song Out of My Head!

By: Dr. Linda Carson

Earworms...not the most pleasant visual, but it’s the term often used to describe what happens when you can’t dislodge a tune from your mind. Most of us have experienced “stuck song syndrome” even when we least expect it. You hear the opening song to your child’s favorite TV show or a commercial jingle on TV early in the day and without effort, you re-hear it again in your head. You might even start to sing or hum portions of it out loud (admit it, you know all of the words to that TV show). You go back to what you should be focusing on during the normal routines of your day and before long that same song returns to your memory and you find yourself hearing it again in your head! Why does this happen and is it helpful in any way?

There has been research on earworms or stuck song syndrome, and basically we all experience this phenomenon. Familiarity is key and as a result, earworms are not unique to any genre of music, but they are unique to each person. There is just no denying that we have music memory, both short term and long term.

Can music memory be used for learning? YES! Music is a universal teaching tool used across cultures. Memory allows us to store and retrieve information, while learning allows us to make sense of it and apply it. Sometimes, for young children, singing songs that have content or messages helps them to both remember and apply the information or message. Most of us learned our ABC’s by singing the alphabet song and there are mothers who sooth their young children by singing nursery rhymes and lullabies that convey messages of love and comfort.

Music can also contain significant content themes like health and convey such topics as washing hands, brushing teeth, eating fruits and veggies, or learning our body parts and moving them. This is a powerful combination of important content with a pleasurable element of music and melody. Children’s music that passes the “pleasant to listen to” challenge, and yet contains content that complements early learning experiences that parents and teachers are also emphasizing, can be profoundly influential, especially if messages about health behaviors are embedded in pleasant songs. We try to strategically combine music and learning by including health messages in our Choosy music. Click here to listen to samples.

Bottom line…while some adults find earworms annoying, stuck song syndrome is not all bad especially for young children and their families. If children’s songs deliberately include positive, healthy content and those songs are played repetitiously, it is likely that they will go to some memory bank in our brains. If you or your child can’t stop those songs from replaying in your minds, then that means the healthy content or messages are also stuck in your brains!

Caution: earworms work with all types of music played repetitiously so be very aware of the types of music that your child is exposed to in your home and in your car.

Let’s start a discussion of stuck song syndrome here by sharing your experiences with it. What songs have you experienced as earworms? And what children’s music have you found useful and sticky?

About the Author: Linda Carson, Ed. D, is the founder and CEO of Choosy Kids, LLC, and the Ware Distinguished Professor Emerita at West Virginia University. An award winning, nationally recognized expert, Dr. Carson has devoted her career to promoting healthy preferences for young children and the adults who make decisions on their behalf. Click here to learn more about Linda.